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Tesla’s battery strategy is inspiring new electric vehicle startups, but not legacy automakers

We are currently witnessing an interesting trend in electric vehicle technology. For a long time, Tesla has been mostly alone in producing battery packs for electric vehicles using thousands of individual cylindrical li-ion battery cells in each pack. In contrast, established automakers, like Nissan with the LEAF or even GM with the more recent Chevy Bolt EV, have been using fewer but larger prismatic cells to build their electric vehicle battery packs.

The strategy is believed to be an important part of the reason why Tesla has been able to deliver much larger battery in the industry. The company had an 85 kWh pack in 2012 while the next best is GM’s 60 kWh Bolt pack released only this year. But now new entrants in the electric vehicle market seem be following Tesla’s lead instead of more established automakers. more…